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Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Two Appletons for Autumn ...

... and spring, and possibly the cooler parts of summer and the warmer parts of winter as well. :-)

It's been a while since I last jumped onto a new-pattern-bandwagon while it was still running, so to speak. My to-sew list is always so long and my love of using my favorite patterns multiple times so big that I tend to need to see several dozen amazing versions made by others, before I'm convinced that I actually need a new pattern.

With the Cashmerette Appleton dress, it actually only took a tiny poke (by Gillian) to get me to buy the pattern, print it out and make it up, all inside of maybe a week. And boy, am I happy I let myself be convinced.

This geometric rayon jersey print wanted to be a wrap dress since I first saw it, but I wasn't quite happy with the first Sew Over It Ultimate Wrap Dress I made last year. It gaped, which didn't make it unwearable, but seeing as it's a cute black&white polka dot dress, it certainly isn't worn as often as it could be, because the need to wear a slip or tank top underneath annoys me. So when Jenny advertised her Appleton dress, with cup-based sizes and a guaranteed no-gape neckline, and I looked at the sizing and saw that my measurements fell, for once in my life, into one straight size, it's maybe not very surprizing that it only took Gillian's "come on, go for it".

And it's a terrific dress! I cut out a straight size 12, C/D cup, not even shortening the bodice, since even on the models it seemed to sit where I prefer it, which is a bit lower than empire-waist but definitely higher than natural waist.

And the only alteration I made to have it fit perfectly was to shorten the hem by about 4 inches! Granted, it's a jersey wrap dress. If you think about it, the fit should be quite forgiving. Still. It does. Not. GAPE! The neckline sits pretty much exactly where I prefer it. The waist tie sits pretty much exactly where I prefer it. This is my personal wrap dress perfection. Jenny, I really have no idea why or how you managed to read my mind in this way, but you did, and it's fantastic. (Could you maybe read my mind about shirtdresses next...?)

I'm a bit sad that I didn't manage to take actual nice outfit pics of this dress. I even packed it for my long weekend trip to Italy at the beginning of November (like several other unblogged-as-yet outfits), but didn't manage to wear it until our trip back...

I did manage to wear the other Appleton dress I made, though, for a lovely and warm afternoon of wine-tasting at a Castello.

If you would just ignore the shoes I paired it with. We went by plane, so I only took two pairs. ;-)
Also, please observe how I'm trying to make angles with my body, following Jenny's advice in Gillian's Better Picture Project. Ahem, yes, I know how completely fangirly I sound.

I think I may like this version even a tiny bit better than the geometric one. I was worried that the rather large rose print might be a bit too granny-ish but I think the contrast tie takes it more towards a ... kimono style, maybe? I don't know, but I like it.

Ok, so now for some facts:Pattern:Cashmerette Appleton dress, size 12 (C/D cup) - the PDF is actually really nice to tape together, since there's an all-over grid to make it easy to alignFabric: 1.5 m each of geometric rayon/lycra jersey (Maybachufer Market) and cotton/lycra rose print (stoffe.de) as well as 40 cm of red rayon/lycra jerseyNotions: noneTime to complete: about an hour for taping and cutting the pattern, half an hour for cutting the fabric, and maybe an hour and a half sewing-timeTechniques used: I used my overlock machine for most of the construction, the hems were made with a zigzag stitch on my conventional machine, because I was too lazy to re-thread the coverstitch.And what to do differently next time: nothing, actually. :-)

So there's still several unblogged outfits, plus the Christmas party from my workplace is on Friday, and I meant to make that silver&black sweater jersey into an appropriate dress for the occasion... Then again, I've got a rehearsal and a choir concert tomorrow night and the night after. Hmm. Some sewing during lunch break, maybe?

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Sewing with a passion when not stuck with my nose in a book or navigating real life as a doctor. The beautiful things in life: friends & family, cooking & eating, coffee & philosophy, painting & photography, theater & music, singing, travels...